Using software to improve the implementation of an engineered labour standard program involving extensive sampling on the warehouse floor.

"By pressing the proper button on the screen, the data is collected and instantly analyzed as the study is ongoing."

- Shaun Castle P. Eng

Testimonial: Using Time Study Software to set labour standards

The implementation of an engineered labour standard program requires extensive sampling by the engineer on the warehouse floor in the middle of the action. The ability to quickly record and analyze data and
adapt to an ever-changing environment are two of the challenges faced by industrial engineers.

In order to predict additional delays within a warehouse setting an engineer will have to complete a work sampling study. The results of such
a study will increase the standard time by the observed percentage to allow for things such as aisle and dock congestion.

Prior to using UMT Plus, we would have to manually record each task an employee was performing on a grid outlined
on a piece of paper, attached to the ever-present clipboard. Whereas the credibility of the study relies upon many samples, a stack of paper soon begins to accumulate, as each department within the warehouse would require its own study. Once the study
was completed each sheet had to be tallied and processed by a spreadsheet to ensure the accuracy of the study had been met.This whole process used much of the engineer’s valuable time simply entering data and counting tick marks on sheets.

Streamlining the process with UMT Plus was more than welcomed by the engineers.Gone are all pieces of paper and the clipboard, replaced by a small and compact PDA. Everything can be developed on our laptop and simply downloaded for immediate
use on the PDA. By pressing the proper button on the screen, the data is collected and instantly analyzed as the study is ongoing. The random alarm will alert the engineer to gather the next set of samples, adding to the credibility of the entire
study. If the study is to be taken over several days, separate studies can be completed, and then automatically merged into one through STAT-UMT.

Perhaps the best feature of UMT is that the engineer does not have to focus solely on one
type of study or sampling, it has the flexibility of five different configurations.We can perform work sampling, stopwatch and frequency studies while never having to leave the floor and “” with paper. This multi-tasking feature enables
us to maximize the amount of data gathering while on the warehouse floor.

UMT Plus has not simply reduced the amount of paperwork we have to analyze; it has eliminated it.